Local structural properties and attribute characteristics in 2-mode networks: p* models to map choices of theater events

Choices of plays made by theatergoers can be considered as a 2-mode or affiliation network. In this article we illustrate how p* models (an exponential family of distributions for random graphs) can be used to uncover patterns of choices. Based on audience research in three theater institutions in Ghent (Belgium), we analyze the loyalty for an institution, the diversity in audience composition as well as more complex local structural patterns. The results seem to indicate that theater audiences are generally loyal to an institution. However, when controlling for more complex structural patterns, such as the co-attendance of identical plays, the tendency toward mobility across institutions becomes more pronounced. By integrating both attribute-specific patterns and more complex structural patterns in the same model social network analysis offers the possibility to investigate differences in co-attendance, loyalty and audience diversity.